Navigating Care and Autonomy: Understanding the Post-Graduation Mobility Decisions of Chinese Female International Graduates

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:45 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Motivation, Care, and Resilience: Sustaining a Transformative Educational Journey

Abstract

This study examines the post-graduation mobility decisions of Chinese female international students through interviews with 56 participants. Beyond conventional return/stay classifications, it identifies five types: determined returnees, reluctant returnees, nonconformist stayers, ambivalent stayers, and opportunity-oriented cosmopolitans. Guided by the Gendered Geographies of Power framework, the study reveals how gendered expectations, care responsibilities, and autonomy shape mobility choices across transnational contexts.

Authors

• Fengyi Lin, Peking University

• Jialu Wang, Peking University

• Wenqin Shen, Peking University